What is mazno?
Mazno is a fun shop.
"Shop" because we mainly offer various fun products, such as cards, plushies, puzzles, vouchers, gift bags, etc. "Things" because we strive not to limit ourselves to just products. For example, "Skara&Bira", which is our free Instagram series, the memes on social networks, the event "Hope with donuts" in the Studentski Grad district, etc.
Why "mazno" and the focus on duners?
Duners are one of the few universal things that everyone raves about. Whether you're male or female, 15 or 40, or ride a scooter or an S-Class, you most likely love Duners.
On the other hand, you have to have a donut shop to be able to afford to talk about donuts to consumers. But since it's difficult and expensive at this stage, we decided to go in with cards, stuffed toys, and vouchers.
We began to feel the duner soil with cards. For a St.Valentine, we made 2-3 cards related to the theme. They killed the fish and we decided that the "dunner" category has great potential.
Subsequently, we also created the half-meter plush dunner, which, according to our criteria, killed the fish. We followed it up with a Duner Making Course voucher as well as a Duner badge.
So far, none of these products have disappointed us, so we will likely continue to add more and more products. And in the future, we might even start making real doners, I know.
Tell us who is behind mazno and how the idea for the brand came about.
The story begins in 2017 when me (Plamen Borisov) and Chris (Kristiyan Stefanov) decided to become businessmen because we read a lot of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and other such inspirational books without practical benefit.
The idea to start a card brand came from two fronts. For one, I was looking to get my girlfriend a Christmas card that didn't have candles, a bloated Santa, and an ugly Merry Christmas. I did not found. That's why I made one for her and said to myself, "There are probably a lot of people like me, but not everyone is interested in making a card. Why don't I make them for them?".
On the other front, Chris was in England and noticed that there was a card shop on one of the most expensive streets in London. How can you even cover the rent on a place that sits between Tesla and Apple stores and break even?
The conclusion was that cards could probably become a profitable and, above all, fun business.
When creating mazno.bg, did you have a prepared brand strategy and concept?
We started Mazno with the idea that all users are like us. Men, between 15-25 years old, like to give simple gifts for their birthdays. That's why 80% of our first cards were targeted at them.
In the end, this strategy did not work and we realized that we had to turn 360° because our target turned out to be the exact opposite - girls between 15-35 years old, who have a normal sense of humor. Therefore, we removed most of the vulgar and rude cards from our site and focused on cards with light and sly humor.
What do you give the most credit for promoting the brand?
Above all, the combination of creative products and courage.
Consumers certainly felt the lack of fun cards and fun products in general. When we entered the market, we gained some popularity because, on the one hand, consumers had not seen a brand with such a name, and on the other hand, they had not seen similar products in Bulgaria.
We don't want to be another gift brand where "you'll find the best gifts for your friends and family, dude!", but to talk to consumers like Chris and I talk to each other - honestly, fun, and without clichés.
How to build a successful Instagram presence?
It's clear that your goal as a brand on Instagram is to reach more users and sell your product. But product posts rarely get the same number of likes and shares as memes and lifestyle quotes, for example.
Therefore, in addition to product posts, you should also have a plan for interesting posts that people would like and share. It's hard to make an interesting product post. In order for them to still have something to do with your product, you need to touch on a topic related to it.
In our case, the "interesting" posts were the memes. Thanks to them, we have collected an awful lot of likes and shares on stories, which leads to a gradual growth of the profile.
What is the thing people ask you most often?
"If I order today, when will the order arrive that I need urgently for tomorrow?".
How are creative ideas born, such as a Student City puzzle and a voucher for sparring with a policeman?
Most often the idea starts with "Let's make X product". These can be puzzles, plush toys, vouchers, badges, etc.
Then we start digging into the category and thinking about how we can make a product that is different from those currently on the market.
If we talk about the "puzzle" category, one of the problems is that almost no puzzle can surprise you while you are putting it together, because 1. before you even start putting it together, you see the picture, and 2. the picture is usually not funny.
From there, we came up with the idea to make a puzzle, in which with each arranged part you can discover a different laugh.
And lastly, what do you think of the cabbage duner?
Duner with cabbage is great as long as there is enough meat and sauce.
🌎 Website: mazno.bg
🔗 Instagram: @maznobg
🔗 Facebook: mazno.bg
🎥 TikTok: @maznobg
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